Britain threatens to withdraw from the European Union negotiations | The news site Europaportalen

Next week, negotiations will begin between the European Union and the United Kingdom over what the future relationship between trade, security and other types of cooperation will look like. The European Union side outlined its position, its negotiating mandate, on Tuesday.

Today, Thursday, the British government has it She posted her site. It differs from the European Union’s viewpoint on several key points.

The government is seeking a free trade agreement similar to the agreement concluded by the European Union with Canada, South Korea and Japan, where Britain enjoys “control over its laws and its political life.”

If negotiations do not fulfill Britain’s desires at the summit scheduled for June this year, the government threatens to forgo negotiations and invest instead in trade with WTO rules.

“If it does not appear [att finnas breda konturer till ett avtal] At the June meeting, the government will need to determine whether Britain’s attention should move away from the negotiations and focus only on the ongoing preparations for [att lämna EU utan avtal]Mentioned in the British Mandate.

A European Commission spokesman said on Thursday that June was the right time to make such an assessment of the negotiations’ progress.

That might be a very reasonable time […] Company spokeswoman Dana Spinant said, to assess the future and possibilities of obtaining an agreement and the type of agreement.

Since the start of the Brexit negotiations, the EU side has been preparing for the breakdown of talks with the UK.

Our responsibility towards EU citizens and companies is also to prepare for a scenario without an agreement. In this case, the chief EU negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the economic consequences would be serious From Wednesday.

Fair terms – reciprocal obligations

The European Union demands that the UK should not be able to compete with companies in EU countries by lowering their standards, for example, the environment or labor law. This will be done through the UK’s commitment to maintaining high standards and fair conditions with EU rules as a point of reference. In their mandate, the British advocated instead that the agreement should contain “reciprocal obligations” and not lower terms and standards. “

The British government indicated earlier that the European Union does not place the same high demands on Canada, Japan and South Korea in the free trade agreements with these countries. However, the European Union considers that the UK’s geographical proximity and its economic importance to the EU countries call for clearer and more stringent rules to avoid unhealthy competition.

fishing

Another expected hot issue is fishing. The EU side wants continued access to British fishing waters in exchange for allowing British fishermen to sell their catch duty-free in the European Union, as is the case today. The European Union also linked this requirement to the offer of a free trade agreement.

However, the British government does not accept this but wants the parties to negotiate fishing quotas for fishermen in the European Union each year. The European Union is doing that today, for example with Norway. Fishing is an important ideological issue for both parties, but has limited economic importance.

He wants to participate in some European Union programs

The UK government is also considering participating in EU programs open to non-members such as the Horizon Research Program and the Copernicus Earth Observation Program. On a limited time basis, the government may also consider participating in the Erasmus exchange program if it is done on “terms in the interest of the United Kingdom”.

Britain’s negotiating mandate does not address areas such as foreign policy and defense issues the way the European Union does in its mandate.

The negotiations will start on Monday next week in Brussels. The European Union side will be represented by Michel Barnier, and Britain is expected to be represented by David Frost, the close European Union advisor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.